<![CDATA[Cartographers' Guild - Blogs - jlficks]]> http://www.cartographersguild.com/blogs/jlficks/ A website and forum for enthusiasts of fantasy maps mapmaking and cartography of all types. We are a thriving community of fantasy map makers that provide tutorials, references, and resources for fellow mapmakers. en Tue, 21 May 2013 22:46:49 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.cartographersguild.com/images/cartographer/misc/rss.jpg <![CDATA[Cartographers' Guild - Blogs - jlficks]]> http://www.cartographersguild.com/blogs/jlficks/ Dumb Grows, Well, Dumber... http://www.cartographersguild.com/blogs/jlficks/67-dumb-grows-well-dumber.html Tue, 10 Jul 2012 14:39:24 GMT Sorry, I've been off the map for so long. I've been meaning to get to my epic city map, but I just spent the last three months driving around the country on storm duty. However, I did chat with Arcana a while back and he had advised that blogs on this site are not limited to just map blogs, so I thought I'd post one of my none map blogs that has a lot of character and is not too long, so here goes:


Meet Kishrub and Zulbash, a pair of “hug at your own risk” big dumb brutes. Well, here are the original Kishrub and Zulbash in their concept sketches. As you can see, the Gutter Dwarf that sold them their armor spared no expense. He assured them every piece of their armor sets was genuine Dwarven craftsmanship! The claim is not entirely untrue, you see, that furnace door which makes up Zulbash’s massive breastplate did in fact come off a Dwarven furnace. And that coal scoop on Kishrub’s leg was once used by Dwarves to shovel coals into that very furnace. And I think a Dwarf may have cooked some Wriggle Rat in that cauldron that rests upon Kishrub’s monstrous shoulder once or twice. But Warlord Lewd did not employ Kishrub and Zulbash for sound council. They supply the muscle behind Lewd’s syndicate just as long as the pair is directed away from any food stores or palace guests foolhardy enough to poke fun at their armor.

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Now our artist, Thom Scott, did a bang up job of crafting the most ridiculous set of armor to ever grace the pages of fantasy history, but haven’t you heard scrap metal is all the rave? Kishrub and Zulbash are breaking in a new fashion craze. Just watch our two fat models as they strut the flashiest set of scrap metals to ever grace a runaway. You catch those big yellow-toothed grins?

Kishrub sports a shield hammered flat at the ends to better tuck away that bulging beer belly. He wears metal chargers for his right bracer or a cluster of tin plates if you prefer. Zulbash shows off a set of striking window bars on his right forearm, which matches Kishrub’s left bracer or perhaps the bumbling duo got the set mixed up? Zulbash is a true trend-setter proving once and for all that tough guys can wear bows and carry dollies as they crack skulls like walnuts.

Words cannot describe how much we loved these concept pictures. It was really nice to see the artist put so much thought and energy into their armor. However, the oafish bodies needed a bit of tweaking. Kishrub and Zulbash belong to the race of Gorums. None of Covent’s people understood just who or where Gorums came from. They just showed up one day and started eating. Many poor cooks, farmers and herdsmen have had kitchens, livestock and crops sacked by Gorum, but their forms are different than say your traditional fantasy Ogres.

You thinking we’re being too picky? After all what could possibly be wrong with those awesome concept designs, so in reply let me tell you about Gorums.

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Gorum walk hunched over like apes. Their arms are disproportionately long forcing them to drag their enormous hands on the ground behind them. Or they ball their fists and throw their huge bodies forward like overgrown banana-stuffed gorillas. Their huge hands are good for smashing down walls and handling other big races. Gutter Dwarves utilize Gorums to keep slaves inline. And so we relayed this information to the artist. See images above. Exhibit 1 shows our artist taking our Gorums away from Ogre form to Gorum form in Exhibit 2. The result is Kishrub and Zulbash look dumber, more apish and capable of breaking down walls and bullying other brutes.

Kishrub and Zulbash stand as my three-year-old son’s favorite Covent characters. I have not read him a word out of the book and I have shown him only the age-appropriate pictures, but these two dumb brutes seem to have stolen his heart. There’s something about them that makes them lovable and brain-numbingly inviting. He asks to see them regularly and likes to point at them and say, “that’s Kishrub and that’s Zulbash!”

Below is the final B&W interior picture of Kishrub & Zulbash which is some of the top-tier quality artwork that is included in Waiting Game as a purchase bonus.

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For other memorable characters, come browse our character informational pages. New characters and artwork will be revealed with each new book!

http://www.chroniclesofcovent.com/characters.html ]]> jlficks http://www.cartographersguild.com/blogs/jlficks/67-dumb-grows-well-dumber.html <![CDATA[Shade's Kind of Town (includes city map)...]]> http://www.cartographersguild.com/blogs/jlficks/59-shades-kind-town-includes-city-map.html Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:41:35 GMT A lot of readers have noted that our towns possess as much character as our people. Jile is a seedy, remote swamp town located in the heart of the... A lot of readers have noted that our towns possess as much character as our people. Jile is a seedy, remote swamp town located in the heart of the Ice Marshes. The men of Doljinaar have always stuck to the roads that wind far around the marshes, which transformed Jile into a breeding ground for criminals, night mortals, half-breeds and others in hiding. Of course this makes Jile a very dangerous and undesirable place to visit. That said, if you can get past the thug filled taverns, the back alley thieves and the powerful drug cartels you would find one of the most rare cultures in all Doljinaar.

If you were lucky enough to go unaccosted down Jile’s dark streets, you would have quite the eye-opening experience. Jile is the only town in all of Doljinaar where night mortals live among men (well if you don’t count the stinky sewers of Kurn that have been converted into an underground black market). Perhaps, we should rephrase: Jile is the only town in all Doljinaar where men and night mortals live side by side, house next to house, under the sun.

Under the moon might be a more befitting description. Jile has a thriving night life. Drunkards and thugs fill its streets; too much frosty ale burning in their bellies. Harlots acquire quite a lot of business by making catcalls off porches and balconies. Night mortals who cannot stand the burning glare of the sun creep out of their homes late at night. They make useful bodyguards and debt collectors, which hound the frivolous throngs of drunken ruffians.

But wait! Before I move on let me give you what everyone came here for today…tourist information!

Jile offers a wide array of tourist attractions! For happy hour, don’t miss out on The Dragon’s Den Inn & Tavern! It’s the safest place to drink, provided you don’t stare too long at the hooded Dark Elven assassin in the back of the room. The Pig’s Trough Eathouse is the best place to eat in town, and don’t miss out on their infamous Mudcrab Medley! Drazel’s Goods and Wares is a great place to find souvenirs; especially recrafted trinkets made of trash and scrap metal that prove surprisingly useful. Oh, and if you want fireworks, get some scrolls from Mizban’s Tower of Magic, but you’ll have to sign a release form just in case a spell blows up in your face. Just don’t break any of the local customs or you’ll end up in the barracks or cartel dungeons where prisoners have been known to drown or freeze to death in the far too frequent backups of subsurface water.
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As you can see, Jile is an old city. Jile is slowly sinking back into the Ice Marshes. Its walls and buildings are retreating into the mud. Many of the long winding roads to Jile have been swallowed by the marshes long ago. The sunken remains of wagons and the skeletons harness animals are at times the best indicators of an Ice Marsh road. The south edge of the city is being inundated with floodwaters. Poor families have been pushed to the uncomfortable mosquitoe-infested edges of town, and although many of them work reputable trades, they lock their doors come nightfall. Every window in Jile is heavily barred and every door is bolted with a minimum of four locks.

Now Jile isn’t all bad. The town has many diamonds buried in the rough. Jile has the strongest tolerance of all the great cities of Doljinaar. Here night mortals and half-breeds can live and work freely among humans. Many men and night mortals who seek refuge in Jile are runaway slaves. Slaves who can earn a large enough living to bribe the corrupt city guards, might even have a chance of staying if a bounty hunter ever bothers to come looking for them. Doelm runts who take asylum in Jile live better here than anywhere else in the world, as long as they don’t cross the rough and tumble Doelm Drug Cartel.

The Shamite Drug Cartel is the worst of the cartels and is backed by the powerful resources of the Merchant Guild. All of Jile’s drug cartels deal mainly in Stardust, which is a strong hallucinogen that can be harvested from the Ice Marshes. Stardust drug addicts are called Dustheads. They lean over steaming bowls of water mixed with Stardust, with towels over their heads, and inhale the fumes for a good high. Many Dustheads have been known to wander out of town under the influence of powerful hallucinations and suffer horrible deaths in the Ice Marshes.

Jile’s most unwanted population is the Dragols. Dragols are short hunched little rat-men with nearly bald scraggly heads and rat shaped snouts. They move quickly through alleys and sewers, making themselves immensely elusive and a general pain the neck. They are worse than raccoons and dig through garbage cans leaving behind piles of spilled trash. Dragols were once hunted down until the Shamite Drug Cartel discovered that Dragol agility enabled them to retrieve Stardust with ease. The drug is collected from the pollen of Starlilies that grow in the warmer months in the Ice Marshes. This has made some Dragols very rich, but of course, Dragols never lost their unquenchable taste for garbage. They can be found in the original Dragol overflow housing in the city outskirts or even paddling among the flooded south searching for fish and stashing treasure troves of garbage.

The Ice Marshes don’t live up to their wintry name in the warmer seasons. They become brown marshlands that bloom with ugly and thorny plants, but plant life nonetheless. This also awakens even more dangerous wildlife that hibernates through the long and harsh winters. I originally got the idea for the Ice Marshes from Illinois, which is my home state, after I found out much of Illinois had once been marshland before it had been converted into farmland.

Shade, the infamous Dark Elven Assassin of Jui-Sae, has also come to call Jile home. Jile is the only town in all Doljinaar which permits him to walk its streets. Shade’s fearsome reputation in Jile is so well known by the locals that they often call it, “Shade’s Town”. He has a permanent room at The Dragon’s Den Inn & Tavern. Many of the locals come to drink at The Dragon’s Den since the fear of Shade’s presence delivers a sliver of law and order. The locals have grown smart enough not to cross Shade, so they can often drink unmolested at The Dragon’s Den. You can read about The Dragon’s Den in Chapter One here, which is an excerpt from Shade’s first book: Waiting Game.

Below is a picture of Shade walking through the streets of Jile. You can see the air of dominance he projects over all the locals. Two supposedly fearless drunken Braznian warriors grovel at his feet, begging forgiveness for blocking his way. A harlot and a witch still to quiet whispers as he passes by. Men stop at the doorways and thieves shrink back into the alleys. Corrupt Doljinaarian soldiers let him pass without a word. This is one of the killer black and white illustrations our artist put together for Shade 1.

I will be posting chapter samples from Shade 2, which includes new scenes from Jile and the Ice Marshes as we get closer to launch. For now feel free to explore many other great locales of Covent and check out our free chapter samples.
www.chroniclesofcovent.com/places.html
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]]> jlficks http://www.cartographersguild.com/blogs/jlficks/59-shades-kind-town-includes-city-map.html The Evolution of a Fantasy Map http://www.cartographersguild.com/blogs/jlficks/46-evolution-fantasy-map.html Tue, 13 Mar 2012 23:36:07 GMT This first image is the original map, as penciled by my partner, J. E. Dugue. J. E. is an all around talented guy. Besides his natural born... This first image is the original map, as penciled by my partner, J. E. Dugue. J. E. is an all around talented guy. Besides his natural born abilities in writing and music, he is also a natural born artist. He chose to pursue his first two loves, but this map will always possess a special place in my heart. This map was first drawn in the late 90’s when we were in high school.
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This is the continent of Sylvane where the first stories take place. Sylvane is a crowded continent in the lower hemisphere. Its lands were originally divided by seven races. Our concept nations were Doljinaar, Kildore, Jui-Sae, Jui-Rae, Sssyrinya, the Blacklands and Myst Valley. The map really only had two major cities labeled back then: Doljinaar and Kurn. Doljinaar was always the name for both the nation and the capital of the united kingdom of men. Looking back, Capital Doljinaar took up the entire southwestern peninsula of Sylvane, which is absurd. When compared to Kurn, which was basically a dot by comparison, Capital Doljinaar was astronomically too large.

Of course, we were but a pair of dreamy-eyed high school boys back then, so every flaw is still married to the original dream. One of my favorite aspects of the original map is that it actually looked like a continent. Far too many fantasy stories have these strangely shaped landmasses that fit conveniently in portrait format on a page when most real continents are far more landscaped in shape. Just pull out a map and take a glance at the Americas, Asia and Europe for example.

That said the original Sylvane seems scrunched now. There is not enough room for sprawling fields or untamed forests. We did not understand the concept of snowcaps providing meltwater to feed rivers at that time, so Mount Haven had a ridiculously large lake atop it. LOL! There are also far too many mountains. Whenever we wanted to keep nations apart we had a habit of slapping mountain ranges in between the borders. Far be it from us to leave room for conflict in the beginning, which is at the heart of good story-telling. Nevertheless, this map laid the groundwork for all Sylvane’s future renditions.
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The next map was made by J. L. in 2007 on AutoREALM, a free fantasy map making program. I called it the expanded world. For starters I used the original map as an underlay and then I stretched it to make the continent feel much wider. This was our first labeling of the cities, towns and capitals. Kingdoms began to feel more like kingdoms complete with roads, wilds, rivers and ruins. We opened up some of the mountain passes to make war torn borders. We replaced much of the northern mountains with a swirling, but passable desert called the Great Waste.

The kingdom of Doljinaar became far larger and grander. Its concept was supposed to represent the united kingdom of men at the height of their power. Their boundaries now extended to nearly one third of the western continent—an empire unequaled in our world. And then we salted it with hides and wastelands where dark and forgotten things lurked. We added the Ice Marshes, the Jaded Wood, the Ruins of Garrlohan, the Rusharken Hills, the Grublands, Mizzle Drizzle and greatly inflated the sprawling brigand-infested woods of Karus Forest.

Sylvane had now grown to house over 15 nations, 30 races and 10 unique human nationalities. The dragon-men now took their place in bleak tower cities atop the fiery black Bloodstorm Mountains. Bloodthirsty shark-men crawled out of the seas to drag land-dwellers back into the depths. A people who glowed like gods took shelter in a crystal city in dragon-infested lands.

Capital Doljinaar’s size was reduced to a more realistic grandeur, though admittedly it still remained too big. We were still in a love with its idea…a sprawling architectural wonder that could be seen from space like the Great Wall of China. Ten massive districts, each a city in itself, walled together side by side to form the largest city to ever grace the pages of fantasy literature. A spectacle of pride and glory, impregnable and a symbol of mankind’s insurmountable power, the shadow that cast across the west causing every dark thing to both cower and yearn to cast every great stone down.

Alas, this map lacked its final polish. Its lines and colors painted an unbalanced contrast. Some lines were far too light to express their full significance, others were far too dark. And then the map file was plagued with technical issues. We could scarcely move a tree without waiting five minutes for the change to take. The file became unusable and I wasn’t sure about commercial rights. I finally caved in and purchased a commercial map-making program called Campaign Cartographer 3. We worked with Photoshop and CC3. We tweaked and tweaked until the final map was born.
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The expanded world did not prove vast enough for the growing population of our world. J. E. and I exploded with new ideas. Covent’s population boomed to include over 50 races, 20 unique human nationalities and over 20 nations. Races migrated from Sylvane to the far wilds of the other continents, a few even sailing by ship to even further off lands. Peoples and creatures wandered into caves and into uncharted caverns little known to the surface world.

Centuries upon centuries of history made its mark on our world leaving war-torn lands, lost ruins and artifacts, enslaved, vanquished and forgotten peoples. Wars between ancient wizards left wounds upon the world. The southern forests of Jui-Sae and Jui-Rae burned forming the warped deadwood known as the Ashwood. The Blasted Plain was forever scorched never to yield vegetation again. Dark abominations stalked magic ruins still possessed by the ancient and forbidden black arts. Magic gates and secret fortresses were erected.

The final map at last crystallized the extreme depths of our obsessions. The mountains, coasts and sea finally made a bolder statement to help the whole map fall together. J. L. finally found a map he was satisfied with and J. E. added the final touch. We set the map against a sheet of dirty, grungy parchment and at last we were finished. Feedback from readers and map-makers advised a mere glance at the map made them want to read about our world. We hope fantasy fans will find all the love and care we have poured into this world. The low resolution map above doesn’t do the final map justice. Feel free to visit the fully zoomable high resolution map available on our website if you would like to know more:

http://www.chroniclesofcovent.com/map.html ]]> jlficks http://www.cartographersguild.com/blogs/jlficks/46-evolution-fantasy-map.html